The mission of the Accounting Doctoral Scholars (ADS) Program is to increase the pool of academically qualified accounting faculty in auditing and tax. This initiative is imperative, as accounting faculty retirements are on the rise and the average age of a tenured accounting faculty member in the United States is 60 years old.
The Accounting Doctoral Scholars Program began in 2008 with the help of many accounting firms and state societies, in conjunction with the AICPA Foundation, to advocate for an increased number of accounting professors with real-world experience in audit and tax. With financial support from over 70 accounting firms and most state CPA societies, the program's first iteration recruited and funded 108 candidates with relevant experience as practitioners. Now in the second iteration, 24 additional individuals have already started doctoral programs.
Last fall, the ADS Selection Committee chose 17 new Ph.D. candidates for funding. The candidates attended a November ADS Orientation Conference in Chicago, where they learned about pursuing a Ph.D. in accounting, heard from previous ADS recipients and discussed Ph.D. programs with university partners. The goal is to have all 17 candidates enrolled in Ph.D. programs at participating ADS universities beginning in the fall of 2019.
Visit the ADS Program website to learn more.